Sizing up the men’s hockey bracket on way to Frozen Four
The NCAA men’s hockey tournament field is set, with 16 teams vying for a trip to Tampa, Florida, for the Frozen Four and a chance at the national championship.
The top four seeds include three of the sport’s most decorated programs — Minnesota, Michigan and defending champ Denver — plus a recent powerhouse in Quinnipiac, which has the best record in the country.
The 16-team field, which includes the six conference champions and 10 at-large teams, will compete in regional play Thursday and Friday, with the regional finals to be played Saturday and Sunday.
The Frozen Four will be at Amalie Arena in Tampa, with the national semifinals April 6 and the national championship game April 8.
Every game of the tournament will be on either ESPNU, ESPN News or ESPN2 and will be available to stream on the ESPN app.
Below are the pairings and schedules for the tournament and a team-by-team look at the field. The schedule will be updated with results as games are played. For a bracket that will update as games are completed, click here.
Schedule
All times Eastern
Manchester, New Hampshire, regional
Thursday: Western Michigan vs. Boston University, 2 p.m. (ESPN2); Cornell vs. Denver, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN News)
Saturday: Regional final, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Fargo, North Dakota, regional
Thursday: Minnesota State vs. St. Cloud State, 5 p.m. (ESPNU); Canisius vs. Minnesota, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday: Regional final, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Bridgeport, Connecticut, regional
Friday: Ohio State vs. Harvard, 2 p.m. (ESPNU); Merrimack vs. Quinnipiac, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN News)
Sunday: Regional final, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Allentown, Pennsylvania, regional
Friday: Michigan Tech vs. Penn State, 5 p.m. (ESPNU); Colgate vs. Michigan, 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sunday: Regional final, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Frozen Four
at Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
April 6: National semifinals, 5 and 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
April 8: National championship game, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Manchester regional
Denver (30-9-0)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost NCHC semifinal to Colorado College)
NCAA appearances: 32
Frozen Four appearances: 18 (nine national titles, last in 2022)
Last NCAA finish: Won national title over Minnesota State in 2022
Of note: Denver was rolling along, winning 11 of 12, before a stunning 1-0 loss to Colorado College in the NCHC semis likely snapped the team to attention. … Special teams could be a key for Denver’s quest to defend its national title. The Pioneers have the third-best power play in the country (26.6%), but their penalty kill ranks just 45th (78%).
Boston University (27-10-0)
How they got in: Won Hockey East championship
NCAA appearances: 38
Frozen Four appearances: 22 (five national titles, last in 2009)
Last NCAA finish: Lost first round to St. Cloud in 2021
Of note: First-year coach Jay Pandolfo was captain of BU’s national title team in 1995-96. … Freshman Lane Hutson, a Montreal Canadiens draft pick, scored the overtime winner in the Terriers’ Hockey East final win over Merrimack. He is the highest-scoring U19 defenseman (47 points) in the NCAA since Brian Leetch in 1986-87. … For some BU fans, a Frozen Four run is needed to erase the sting of the Terriers’ fourth-place finish in Boston’s beloved Beanpot.
Western Michigan (23-14-1)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost to Colorado College in NCHC quarterfinals)
NCAA appearances: 8
Frozen Four appearances: 0
Last NCAA finish: Lost to Minnesota in regional final in 2022
Of note: The Broncos are well rested after a surprising two-game sweep by Colorado College (13-22-3) in the NCHC quarterfinals (although it must be noted CC knocked off Denver in the semis as well). … Senior Jason Polin leads the nation with 29 goals and is second with 149 shots.
Cornell (20-10-2)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost to Harvard in ECAC semifinal)
NCAA appearances: 23
Frozen Four appearances: 8 (two national titles, last in 1970)
Last NCAA finish: Lost regional final to Providence in 2019
Of note: Cornell is tied with Minnesota State for second in the nation in scoring defense (2.0 goals per game), and the Big Red also can score (eighth with 3.4 goals per game), particularly on the man advantage (25.9%, fourth in NCAA).
Fargo regional
Minnesota (26-9-1)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost Big Ten final to Michigan)
NCAA appearances: 40
Frozen Four appearances: 22 (five national titles, last in 2003)
Last NCAA finish: Lost national semifinal to Minnesota Duluth in 2022
Of note: Much of last season’s Frozen Four team is back, but the Gophers have gotten a huge spark from freshmen Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud, who are 1-2 on the team in points and plus-minus (Cooley at 52, plus-34; Snuggerud at 49, plus-31). … Minnesota is 11-6 against teams in the NCAA field.
St. Cloud State (24-12-3)
How they got in: Won NCHC championship
NCAA appearances: 17
Frozen Four appearances: 2
Last NCAA finish: Lost first round to Quinnipiac in 2022
Of note: After a disappointing season last year, St. Cloud State looks to get back to the national title game after losing to UMass in 2021. … The battle-tested Huskies have won three of four against Denver. They went through a 1-5-3 stretch late in the regular season, but turned things around in the NCHC tournament.
Minnesota State (25-12-1)
How they got in: Won CCHA championship
NCAA appearances: 9
Frozen Four appearances: 2
Last NCAA finish: Lost national championship game to Denver in 2022
Of note: The Mavericks have been to the last two Frozen Fours, but their spot in the field this season was not fully secured before their stirring comeback OT win over Northern Michigan in the CCHA title game. They scored twice in the last 2:19 of regulation to tie it, then won on Zach Krajnik’s goal 1:08 into overtime.
Canisius (20-18-3)
How they got in: Won Atlantic Hockey championship
NCAA appearances: 2
Frozen Four appearances: 0
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Quinnipiac in 2013
Of note: The Golden Griffins emerged from an upset-filled tournament to claim the Atlantic’s automatic bid. Although checking in at No. 41 in the PairWise rankings, Canisius has at least one thing going for it — experience (albeit not on this stage). The Griffs are the second-oldest team in the country, with an average age of 23.2.
Bridgeport regional
Quinnipiac (30-4-3)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost ECAC semifinal to Colgate)
NCAA appearances: 9
Frozen Four appearances: 2
Last NCAA finish: Lost regional final to Michigan in 2022
Of note: Again led by Yaniv Perets (1.52 GAA), Quinnipiac put up absurd defensive numbers for the second straight season. This year, the Bobcats also scored 3.92 goals per game and the ECAC was much stronger.
Harvard (24-7-2)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost ECAC final to Colgate)
NCAA appearances: 27
Frozen Four appearances: 13 (one national title, in 1989)
Last NCAA finish: Lost first round to Minnesota State in 2022
Of note: The Crimson, who are in the top seven nationally in both goals scored and goals allowed per game, are led by junior Sean Farrell (1.58 points per game, second in the country). … Ted Donato, who keyed Harvard’s run to its lone national title in 1989, has led his alma mater to eight NCAA appearances in 18 seasons at the helm.
Ohio State (20-15-3)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost to Michigan in Big Ten semifinal)
NCAA appearances: 10
Frozen Four appearances: 2
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Denver in 2019 Key stat: The Buckeyes take a ton of shots (1,378, second only to Penn State) and hung a 6-spot on Minnesota and a 7-spot on Michigan in early-season wins over the Gophers and Wolverines. They also have the best penalty kill in the country (89.5%).
Merrimack (23-13-1)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost to BU in Hockey East final)
NCAA appearances: 3
Frozen Four appearances: 0
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Notre Dame in 2011
Of note: The Warriors were the surprise team of the early season, getting well into the top 10 of the rankings, before a rough 2-8-1 stretch at the start of the new year. But they rebounded with a weekend sweep of Boston University and closed strong, securing the final at-large bid despite losing to the Terriers in overtime in the Hockey East championship game.
Allentown regional
Michigan (24-11-3)
How they got in: Won Big Ten championship
NCAA appearances: 40
Frozen Four appearances: 26 (nine national titles, last in 1998)
Last NCAA finish: Lost national semifinal to Denver in 2022
Of note: As has been the case of late, the Wolverines don’t lack for star power. Freshman sensation Adam Fantilli, the likely No. 2 pick in the upcoming NHL draft, leads the nation with 1.85 points per game, while sophomore defenseman Luke Hughes may well be wearing a New Jersey Devils uniform in a few weeks.
Penn State (21-15-1)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost to Ohio State in Big Ten quarterfinals)
NCAA appearances: 3
Frozen Four appearances: 0
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Denver in 2018
Of note: Penn State got off to a 9-0 start that included a 3-0 win over Michigan. The Nittany Lions also beat Minnesota and lost in OT to the Gophers and Wolverines, so they’ve hung with the big boys, but they’ll need to recapture their early mojo to make some noise. … PSU leads the country with 1,462 shots (nearly 40 per game) and is third in faceoff percentage (55%).
Michigan Tech (24-10-4)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost CCHA semifinal to Northern Michigan)
NCAA appearances: 15
Frozen Four appearances: 10 (three national titles, last in 1975)
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Minnesota Duluth in 2022
Of note: Michigan Tech’s best shot at making its first Frozen Four since 1981 is for senior goalie Blake Pietila to stand on his head. Pietila is fifth in the country with a 1.99 GAA, tied for third with a .929 save percentage and No. 1 with 10 shutouts.
Colgate (19-15-5)
How they got in: Won ECAC championship
NCAA appearances: 6
Frozen Four appearances: 1
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Ferris State in 2014
Of note: Colgate, which entered the ECAC tournament at the No. 5 seed, won its first league title in more than 30 years and second ever by beating Harvard 3-2. Goalie Carter Gylander was the key for the Raiders with 34 saves, 14 in the third period.
Note: NCAA tournament and Frozen Four appearances since tournament began in 1948
-
Dan Murphy, ESPN Staff Writer
The legal efforts to unionize college athletes appear to be running out of steam this month as a new Republican-led administration gets set to take over the federal agency in charge of ruling on employment cases.
A players’ advocacy group who filed charges against the NCAA, Pac-12 and USC that would have potentially opened the door for college players to form a union decided Friday to withdraw its complaint. Their case – which was first filed in February 2022 – was one of two battles against the NCAA taken up by the National Labor Relations Board in recent years. Earlier this week, an administrative law judge closed the other case, which was filed by men’s basketball players at Dartmouth.
The National College Players Association, which filed its complaint on behalf of USC athletes, said the recent changes in state law and NCAA rules that are on track to allow schools to directly pay their players starting this summer caused them to reconsider their complaint.
“[T]he NCPA believes that it is best to provide adequate time for the college sports industry to transition into this new era before football and basketball players employee status is ruled upon,” the organization’s founder Ramogi Huma wrote in the motion to withdraw.
The NCAA and its four power conferences agreed to the terms of a legal settlement this summer that will allow schools to spend up to roughly $20.5 million on direct payments to their athletes starting next academic year. The deal is scheduled to be finalized in April.
College sports leaders, including NCAA President Charlie Baker, have remained steadfast in their belief that athletes should not be considered employees of their schools during a period when college sports have moved closer to a professionalized model.
Some industry stakeholders believe that the richest schools in college sports will need to collectively bargain with athletes to put an end to the current onslaught of legal challenges facing the industry. Currently, any collective bargaining would have to happen with a formal union to provide sufficient legal protection. Some members of Congress say they are discussing the possibility of creating a special status for college sports that would allow collective bargaining without employment. However, Congressional aides familiar with ongoing negotiations told ESPN that influential Republican leaders in Congress are firmly against the idea.
The NLRB’s national board previously declined to make a ruling on whether college athletes should be employees in 2015 when a group of football players at Northwestern attempted to unionize. Jennifer Abruzzo, the agency’s leader during the Biden administration, signaled an interest in taking up the athletes’ fight to unionize early in her tenure. Abruzzo is not expected to remain as the NLRB’s general counsel during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Under Abruzzo, the agency’s regional offices pushed both the Dartmouth and USC cases forward in the past year. Dartmouth players got far enough to vote in favor of forming a union in March 2024, but were still in the appeals process when they decided to end their effort last month.
The only remaining legal fight over employee status in college sports is a federal lawsuit known as Johnson v. NCAA. That case claims the association is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, which does not guarantee the right to unionize but instead would give athletes some basic employee rights such as minimum wage and overtime pay. That case is currently working its way through the legal process in the Third Circuit federal court.
-
Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Louisiana State Police have issued an arrest warrant for former LSU receiver Kyren Lacy, who is accused of causing a fatal crash that killed a 78-year-old man on Dec. 17 and then fleeing the scene without rendering aid or calling authorities.
Louisiana State Police said on Friday that Lacy will be charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run and reckless operation of a vehicle.
Police said they have been in contact with Lacy and his attorney to turn himself in.
According to a news release from state police, Lacy was allegedly driving a 2023 Dodge Charger on Louisiana Highway 20 and “recklessly passed multiple vehicles at a high rate of speed by crossing the centerline and entering the northbound lane while in a designated no-passing zone.”
“As Lacy was illegally passing the other vehicles, the driver of a northbound pickup truck abruptly braked and swerved to the right to avoid a head-on collision with the approaching Dodge,” a Louisiana State Police news release said.
“Traveling behind the pickup was a 2017 Kia Cadenza whose driver swerved left to avoid the oncoming Dodge Charger. As the Kia Cadenza took evasive action to avoid impact with the Dodge, it crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a southbound 2017 Kia Sorento.”
Police alleged that Lacy, 24, drove around the crash scene and fled “without stopping to render aid, call emergency services, or report his involvement in the crash.”
Herman Hall, 78, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, who was a passenger in the Kia Sorrento, later died from injuries suffered in the crash, according to state police.
The drivers of the Cadenza and Sorento also sustained moderate injuries, according to police.
Lacy played two seasons at Louisiana before transferring to LSU in 2022. This past season, he had 58 catches for 866 yards with nine touchdowns and declared for the NFL draft on Dec. 19, two days after the crash.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway